Large melt diversity at a mid-ocean ridge thermal low

Mid-ocean ridges serve as key sites for understanding the composition of the mantle, but extensive melting usually masks its lithological diversity. This study explores how cold mid-ocean ridge segments, such as the eastern Romanche ridge-transform intersection (ERRTI), provide unique insights into mantle heterogeneity. Here, a thick cold lithosphere faces the warm ridge segment efficiently cooling the ridge tip, thus reducing melting and mixing, and allowing distinct short-scale lithologies to be sampled. Our findings reveal a mosaic of mantle components with diverse geochemical and isotopic signatures, reflecting dynamic mantle processes over time. By examining these cold regimes, this research sheds light on the mantle’s compositional complexity and its evolution, offering a fresh perspective on lithospheric dynamics and melt generation in settings independent of hotspot influences.

Full Text

FilePagesSizeAccess
Publisher's official version
145 Mo
Figs. S1 to S5 Legends for datasets S1 and S2
7772 Ko
Datasets S1 and S2
-78 Ko
How to cite
Brunelli Daniele, Verhoest Léna, Ligi Marco, Hemond Christophe, Maia Marcia, Soltanmohammadi Azam, Lugli Federico, Nonnotte Philippe, Cipriani Anna (2025). Large melt diversity at a mid-ocean ridge thermal low. Science Advances. 11 (18). eadv4654 (14p.). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv4654, https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00951/106303/

Copy this text